Paris Saint-Germain vs Monaco: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news and prediction | OneFootball

Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain will seek to confirm their place in the knockout phase when they welcome Monaco to Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

With only one goal separating the teams after last week’s first leg, there is still all to play for as the teams seek to set up a last-16 encounter against Chelsea or Barcelona.

Match preview

After a disastrous start to proceedings at Stade Louis II, where they went 2-0 down and missed a penalty inside the opening 22 minutes, PSG’s Champions League defence looked to be in shambles.

However, Luis Enrique’s men mustered an impressive comeback thanks in no small part to Desire Doue, who scored twice off the bench to inspire a 3-2 win.

Building on their huge European triumph, Les Parisiens made light work of Metz on Saturday to make it four wins from their last five outings.

As a result, Wednesday’s hosts have now won their last two home matches by a combined score of 8-0 and will be confident of another big performance in front of their fans to conclude their UCL play-off tie.

Monaco’s 3-2 victory over Lens on Saturday would have been loudly cheered in Paris as it saw PSG go two points clear atop the Ligue 1 table, but Sebastien Pocognoli’s men will be in no mood to do their upcoming opponents any more favours.

Three second-half goals in a 10-minute span from Folarin Balogun, Denis Zakaria and Ansu Fati saw Les Monégasques fall on the right side of a comeback this time around after their capitulation against PSG in midweek.

Aiming to end their nine-year wait for a UCL last-16 appearance, Monaco must beat PSG in Paris for the first time since 2021, after which they have conceded 12 goals in four visits, while scoring just four times.

Team news

Ousmane Dembele and Senny Mayulu are both out with calf issues and will not feature for PSG here.

Fabian Ruiz (knee) is also unfit to feature for the home side and is joined on the sidelines by Quentin Ndjantou as the 18-year-old continues to nurse a muscle problem that has sidelined him since December.

Takumi Minamino, Lukas Hradecky and Mohammed Salisu are all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Paul Pogba and Kassoum Ouattara are also unavailable (both calf).

Maghnes Akliouche and Eric Dier are yet to fully recuperate from their respective injury problems and are out of contention for the away side, who are missing Aleksandr Golovin through suspension.

Paris Saint-Germain Predicted XI (4-3-3): Safonov; Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Neves, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Barcola, Doue, Kvaratskhelia

Monaco Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kohn; Vanderson, Teze, Faes, Henrique; Camara, Zakaria, Coulibaly; Adingra, Balogun, Diatta

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Monaco